It was a tragically unfortunate ending that the supreme Taga-Ilog/Filipino patriot and his beloved brother be murdered via an elaborate power grab scheme under the hands of the men of his own Katipunan inductee, Aguinaldo. He who powered the 1896 Revolution, the occupant of the Office of the Supreme President, Government of the Revolution (Kataastaasang Panguluhan, Pamahalaang Panghihimagsik), betrayed and murdered by Tejeros Convention poll cheats.

When it is considered that Mr. Aguinaldo (the elected leader) was primarily answerable for insubordination against the head of the Katipunan of which he was a member; when it is appreciated that reconciliation was the only solution proper in the critical state of the Revolution, the motive for the assassination cannot be ascribed except to feelings and judgments which deeply dishonor the former; in any case, such a crime was the first victory of personal ambition over true patriotism.

The March 1897 convention had proved to be scandalous and was declared invalid and fraudulent by the Supreme President Andres Bonifacio*, who earlier agreed to chair the convention despite the fact that the Katipunan was already a revolutionary body in his patriotic bid to unite the warring Magdiwang and Magdalo Katipunan factions in Cavite province. This, despite hearing prior reports that the Imus crowd in the province wanted only men from their pueblos to be elected and that pre-filled ballots carrying Magdalo names were distributed. Bonifacio ended up being insulted by Daniel Tirona who scandalously disrespects the balloting by questioning the Supremo's credentials and asking the crowd to elect another man in his place.

Besides, the oath-taking of the Magdalo victors took place surreptitiously--not unlike the 2004 break-of-dawn-oathtaking of 'Hello Garci' President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo! Ricarte, Emilio F. Aguinaldo and Mariano Trias took their oath in a ceremony kept hidden from the Magdiwang, with the controversial Tirona as one of only two or three witnesses, and with Bonifacio not having been invited. Iligal kaya nagtago.

The tragic conclusion of Gat Andres Bonifacio and his brothers. It was power grab sealed with a kangaroo justice. Meron ba namang korte ng hustisya kung saan ang abogado mismo ay hinusgahan na at tinuligsa ang kanyang dapat ipinagtatanggol? The "lawyer" assigned by Aguinaldo's camp, Placido Martinez, had the evil temerity to say that: "“The word to defend or protect, does not seem to apply remotely to Mr. Andres Bonifacio..." and then at the end of his speech, asks for divine forgiveness for his client! Ain't that using the name of god in kangaroo court martial vain while reneging on his lawyer duty?

*No less than Baldomero Aguinaldo, first cousin of Emilio Aguinaldo and the head of the Magdalo chapter of the Katipunan in Cavite, in a March 21, 1897 letter, referred to Supremo Andres Bonifacio as Mr. President, recognizing the Bonifacio's Katipunan national government as "Kgg na pulungan ng hihimacsic (Gobierno revolucionario)” [Honorable revolutionary council (Revolutionary government)].

That the Katipunan transformed itself into a revolutionary body is proved and established by surviving contemporary documents and accounts. Beyond the communication between Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto (and Julio Nakpil) that a certain Glenn May ridiculously tried to dismiss through his preposterous reject thesis (rejected by the Ateneo de Manila Publishing), beyond Baldomero Aguinaldo's letter acknowledging the position and office of Bonifacio as President, another proof comes from an unlikely source--the imperialist records of the invading government of the Bald Eagle. John Rodgers Meigs Taylor, the military historian of the 20th century imperialist United States, records the revolutionary governmental nature of the Katipunan headed by Bonifacio. No doubt, the Katipunan as of the breakout of the Philippine Revolution was a revolutionary national government, and Bonifacio the first President of the country:

The Katipunan came out from the cover of secret designs, threw off the cloak of any other purpose, and stood openly for the independence of the Philippines. Bonifacio turned his lodges into battalions, his grandmasters into captains, and the supreme council of the Katipunan into the insurgent of the Philippines.

Within this context of President Bonifacio's supreme leadership of the Katipunan and amidst the (1) reported fraud of the Tejeros Convention acknowledged no less by Gen. Ricarte, and (2) the surreptitious circumstances of the oath-taking of 'elected' Tejeros officials, many questions come to mind as to the seeming anomaly, illegality, and criminality of the capture, kangaroo court martial, and killing of the Supremo.